A New Chapter, But Only the Beginning

Yesterday we walked up to apartment 6AC. It was Irini's third time there. We looked around, played on the empty floors. Looked over locks and electrical systems. We checked faucets and talked about air conditioning and fans and plumbing. We also signed a couple pieces of paper and picked up a set of keys. It turns out, this is our new place. Larger than the one we have now (three bedrooms) but in the same condominium. The walk is a little further from the main entrance, in a quieter part of the neibhorhood. It is on the sixth floor, though the past two times we've gone up we have inadvertently pushed the button for the 2nd floor. Hopefully we'll get used to things. Higher up means a broader view to the mountains beyond. It also means more worries about Irini climbing up to areas where she shouldn't. The place is clean and beautiful. Over the next couple weeks Laurence will use a trolley to take the "small stuff" over a little at a time. April 1st (no joke) is the moving day for the "big stuff". Life begins anew. Now all we need is visitors. :-)

Friendship is Effortless

Friendship should happen as naturally as the sun coming up in the morning and as effortlessly as it seems for it go back down on the other end of it's journey west. Sometimes, people who don't know each other just "click". They jump on a bed and play together. They fix each others hair. They dance together listening to the same song, over and over again. They run and giggle and frolic in doorways, down hallways, around corners in living rooms and bathtubs. They hug and they play-fight and they laugh and they enjoy the moments, naturally. Just like it should be.

Irini's Ever-Expanding Vocabulary

Natalia and Laurence sat down the other day while Skyping Pappou (grandfather in Greek) and wrote down the words that Irini is able to say. It began slowly as we tried to remember, but when Irini realized what we were doing she started adding words to the list, blurting them out for us to write. At the final analysis we were up to 50 words, but the number is growing exponentially by the hour, it seems. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Uh oh (first word she every learned, taught to her by our Sydney-based friend Chechi)
2. Mama
3. Baba
4. Chao (ciao)
5. Bye
6. Hi
7. Down
8. Coming
9. No (of course!)
10. Yeah
11. Kaka (Popo in Greek)
    
12. Peepee
13. Popo (Kaka in Spanish)
14. I
15. Want
16. This
17. Jugo (juice in Spanish)
18. Scott (actually pronounced "ska")
19. Beka (Irini's short version of "Rebecca")
20. Zizzie (Izzie, her best friend now in Maine)
21. Agua
22. Tete (short for "tetero"; Spanish for baby bottle; Irini's way of saying "milk")
23. Koko (short for verikoko, apricot in Greek)
24. Cold
25. Hot
26. Shoes (pronounced "shus")
27. Daddy
28. Please
29. Pappou (grandad in Greek)
30. Wet
31. Raining
32. Painting
33. Cheese
34. Baby
35. Ouii (when hurt)
36. Dos (two in Spanish)
37. Kitty
38. Danny
39. Pan (bread in Spanish)
40. Thank you
41. Yummy
42. More
43. Off
44. Con (short for air conditioner)
45. Money
46. Door
47. Clean
48. Nose
49. Eyes
50. Boom
    

Her latest statements:

1. "I want more"
2. "I want paint"
3. "I want this"
4. "I have money"
   

Out of Town. In Town. All Poolside.

What do you get when long-time friends from the past come into town and old-time friends from in town are still around? Well, you put them all together and head out to some suburban Malaysian retreat for a weekend of frolicking by the pool! Trina and Joe flew in on the Saturday night before Chinese New Year and brought with them that adorable bundle of energy and beautiful hair: Sarah! It had been a while since Joe and Trina had been talking to us about getting our respective daughters together and meeting each other's next generation as well. Add a little bit of our KL extended family - Scott and Rebecca - and you've got yourself a great weekend "away" at The Saujana (a 25 minute ride across town).

The goal was to relax and rejuvenate, for the China-based friends to enjoy the warmth and sun or Malaysia, and for all to enjoy the warmth and sun of friendship re-united. It was strange how quickly we all became accustomed to having each other around, (old friends are like that, aren't they?) and how wonderfully we all did with our newly added family members. Sarah and Irini - save for a few moments of "that's mine" - did fabulously together. They played together in the water and walked around holding hands. Add a bit of that Rebecca love of children and her magnetism with toddlers and we had a winning combination in every sense.

Two days sure fly by when you have nothing to do but enjoy yourself and your friends. Wake up times moved into breakfast times which, in turn, transformed themselves into pool times. Pool times morphed into lunch times. Lunch times ebbed into nap times. Nap times allowed for more pool times which stretched into dinner. Dinner times moved into sleepy times and then happily, allowed for rest from the rest. How happy to be in that situation!

When the weekend ended (it was a four day weekend for us in KL, and a week-long vacation for Joe, Trina and Sarah) we moseyed on back to Ampang where the fun continued for a few more days. The China-based folk nestled themselves into the guest studio in the A Block while the rest of us returned to our respective dwellings. :-)